Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Guayusa
Where to Buy: Stash Tea
Tea Description:
GUAYUSA (gwhy-you-sa) is a rare herbal tea produced from the leaves of a holly tree (ilex guayusa) native to the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador. Guayusa is naturally caffeinated and has an awakening effect similar to coffee and yerba mate. For this signature blend, Guayusa is paired with peppermint and spearmint for a refreshing, rejuvenating blend.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really like this blend. The Guayusa is very invigorating (and I really needed it to help me wake up this morning!) and the mint flavor gives it a very refreshing, crisp taste.
I’ve reviewed a few Guayusa blends now, and I really like this herb. It has a rich, earthy flavor that is neither too vegetal nor too earthy. It reminds me a bit of a light roast coffee. It also reminds me a little of yerba maté, although if given the choice, I’d choose Guayusa over yerba maté, because I like the smooth flavor of Guayusa better than the rather strong (and sometimes a little bitter) taste of yerba maté. Don’t get me wrong, I like yerba maté too, but, I just prefer Guayusa. Guayusa has never been bitter or astringent any time I’ve tasted it – it’s always just been smooth and energizing.
This blend combines the delicious flavor of Guayusa with mint … peppermint and spearmint, to be exact. And the flavor is very minty. It tastes cool and leaves my mouth feeling very clean and fresh. But because of the Guayusa it doesn’t taste too minty. It doesn’t taste like a mouth full of toothpaste, it just tastes refreshing!
While I am drinking this hot at the moment (I prefer my morning teas to be hot), I think it would be very delicious iced too. However, it isn’t a tea that I’d recommend drinking too late in the evening (which I tend to do with iced teas), because it is a highly caffeinated beverage.
Instead, this is the kind of tea you’d want to drink early in the day when you need a super-charged boost of energy. This tea will do that for you, and without all the sugar of the typical energy drink in a can!
Mint Green Tea from Compass Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Compass Teas
Tea Description:
The refreshing taste of spearmint blends perfectly with Green tea to provide a minty pick-me-up that is full of anti-oxidants, helps with digestion problems and may help relieve heartburn. Try it hot or iced.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first tasted this, it tasted a little … different. Not bad, really, just different than many of the mint green teas I’ve tasted. Then, I read the description for the tea (provided above) and realized what it was: this tea has spearmint, while most green teas I’ve had are made with peppermint. My palate can definitely tell the difference.
And while I would usually select peppermint over spearmint, I’m enjoying the change. It not only challenged my palate but it also invigorated it, as it was prepared to taste peppermint and sometimes my palate “preps” me for what I’m about to eat or drink… and spearmint was just different enough for my palate to perk up and take notice.
It’s still minty, of course, but, I find that there is plenty of green tea to make this a green tea with mint… rather than a minty green tea. That is to say, the green tea is stronger than the mint, and I like it that way. I like that it doesn’t taste as though I’m sipping a cup of hot mouthwash.
The green tea is mildly sweet with a hint of vegetation which complements the herbaceous notes of the spearmint nicely without making it taste too herb-y. Overall a very pleasant cup: cool and crisp, but, also calming in its own way.
White Mint from Element Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Element Tea
Product Description:
If you love mint, then you’ll love this tea! With a combination of peppermint AND spearmint, your taste buds will experience a mint extravaganza. This tea is wonderful iced, too!
Ingredients: Bai Mu Dan White Tea, Peppermint, Spearmint
Taster’s Review:
When I first decided to brew this tea, I had prepared myself for a very minty-tasting tea, and I had expected the white tea to be completely overpowered by the peppermint and spearmint. Fortunately, this is not the case at all.
While the Bai Mu Dan base is indeed a delicate taste, the peppermint and spearmint have been blended skillfully so that they would be in perfect balance with the softer, gentler white tea. So now, what I taste is a medley of soft, fluffy white tea and cool, crisp mint flavor without feeling overwhelmed by them.
Even though I am sipping this hot, it doesn’t make me feel uncomfortably warm. I find it both exhilarating and calming to drink. I can feel it cool me as it hydrates me.
A very harmonious tea blend – I like it very much.
Meadow Tea from Compass Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Compass Teas
Product Description:
Soothing and refreshing, this spearmint tea is perfect hot or iced.
Made with All Organic Ingredients
Taster’s Review:
Every once in a while, I get an upset stomach. Don’t we all? At times like that (or shall I say “at times like this”), I usually turn to peppermint, but this evening, I decided to try some spearmint instead. This spearmint which is also known as Meadow Tea from Compass Teas.
It’s difficult to compare one spearmint from another, so I won’t try to do that. But I will say that I like that this Meadow Tea from Compass is a 100% pure, organic spearmint. It tastes just the way I expected it to, and when I am feeling a bit down-and-out like I am tonight, I really don’t want any surprises.
The spearmint is crisp and vibrant. It is very exhilarating and leaves my mouth feeling minty clean and fresh. This is a pleasant change-up from my usual “go to” peppermint. As I write this, I feel my unsettled stomach relaxing, and I feel myself begin to perk up a bit. That’s just what I wanted from this Meadow Tea, and it delivered. I can’t really ask for more than that!
Cooling Mint Tulsi from The Tao of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Product Description:
An organic blend of green leaf (Rama) Tulsi and spearmint.
Known as Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum), Tulsi is a sacred plant from India used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. Tulsi is considered an ‘elixir of life’ providing alchemy to one’s well being.
Taster’s Review:
While brewing, this tea filled the kitchen with a savory, herbaceous aroma. I’ve brewed a few different tulsi blends, and I don’t recall ever experiencing as strong a fragrance as I did with this tea. From the scent, I thought I was in for a very herb-y tasting tisane and I worried it might taste medicinal. But it doesn’t.
The flavor is very cool and minty, but not in a mouthwash kind of way. There is also a sharp and slightly peppery kind of taste to the tulsi that I don’t think I’ve ever detected in a tulsi blend before. The contrast of these characteristics makes for a very interesting and exciting flavor. The cup is light and refreshing with a crisp mint taste. It’s quite tasty.
I have kind of been on the fence when it comes to tulsi, but for no other reason than because it’s an herb and my automated response to herbals tends to be that of alarm and distrust. Well, I think it is time for me to embrace the tulsi, because I have yet to find a tulsi blend that I dislike!